


Life by the Slice

by Shakespearescrypt



Series: Tumblr Transformer Prompts [1]
Category: Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Drabbles, Multi, Rating May Change, Slice of Life, Tags May Change, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 18:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9283601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shakespearescrypt/pseuds/Shakespearescrypt
Summary: Tumblr drabble requests for RID2015.





	1. Teamies

Grimlock was a strange Dinobot, to say the least. Granted, Drift didn’t know him _that_ well, but of what he’d seen… Well, they could very well have been called opposites. Grimlock was wild, impulsive, rough-and-tumble, and so very _affectionate_. Drift was surprised how easily he was able to get close to people he barely knew. Just a day after their first meeting, Grimlock would pat his shoulder in passing and grin at him with that big goofy grin. He noticed with what ease he looked into Bumblebee’s optics, the way he leaned against Strongarm when he laughed too hard (and he laughed a _lot_ ), how he gathered his friends into big group hugs as if it weren’t the easiest thing in the world to snap them in half. Not to mention the time he’d slung Drift over his shoulder and hauled him back to base like a sack of earth root vegetables.

            Then there was the whole “teamies” ordeal. It was Grimlock’s ridiculous idea to try to urge him into a team within the team. Drift had refused-many times- because would in not be disrespectful to show favoritism among their group? That and he found Grimlock to be rather annoying. At the end of the day, though, he’d given in. They were team members after all, and one had to admire Grimlock’s persistence.

            As he thought this, Drift glanced over to Slipstream and Jetstorm. They were watching a “movie” with Russel. The screen hardly depicted a realistic look at what combat was really like, but Drift had decided some down time couldn’t hurt too bad. They needed the rest, he told himself, especially after the events of last night. He stretched out his legs. He was still sore.

            “Mornin’ teamie!” Grimlock sang, startling Drift out of his musings. He plopped down close to him- too close for Drift’s liking- and handed over a cube of energon. Drift blinked.

            “Thank you,” he said. He’d actually forgotten to refuel this morning. How… thoughtful of Grimlock. “Good morning to you as well.” The Dinobot smiled, swinging his legs in a childish manner.

            “Got any plans today?”

            “Training.”

            Grimlock sputtered. What had he expected? “Training? After last night?! Don’t you ever take a break?”

            Drift snorted at the disbelieving look he was given. “A warrior must sharpen his skills.”

            “Don’t most things break or something when you sharpen them too much?”

            Drift was taken aback. Where had _that_ random wisdom come from? The moment went as quickly as it came, though. Grimlock bumped their shoulders together with a laugh.

            “You’re workin’ too hard! Russel’s got a game today; come watch it with me,” his optics were hopeful. Drift could feel his will already caving. He was going soft.

            “Very well,” he grumbled.

* * *

 

            That evening, Bee’s team sat in the grass and watched Russel’s football game together. That is, they tried. Mostly they fought over the one pair of binoculars. At one point Grimlock wrestled them away from Strongarm and offered them to Drift. He peered through them just in time to see Russel make what was called a “touchdown” and perform and odd little dance. His optics narrowed. Was he the one teaching Jetstorm those ridiculous moves? It wouldn’t surprise him; the minicons were quite taken with the child. They spent the majority of their downtime with him, and Jetstorm had even tried to convince Russel to become his new master. That certainly wasn’t going to happen, but Drift had to admit the child was rather astounding for his age.

            Apparently Grimlock thought so too. “Yeah Russel!” He cheered, waving his arms above his helm. “Woohoo!”  Next to him, Slipstream and Jetstorm clapped along, jumping and jittery. Strongarm threw a couple of fake punches at Grimlock.

            “I can’t believe you made me miss that, Grim!” she shouted, but she was smiling all the same. Grimlock chuckled and pushed her out of his face, right into Sideswipe. This caused him to fall against Bumblebee, and they all went tumbling down in a pile of limbs and laughter. Drift rolled his optics. Such foolishness.

            “You guys are dorks,” Denny teased. He turned to Fixit. “Seriously, how do you handle these guys?” The minicon shrugged and giggled.

            “Hey,” said Bumblebee as he untangled himself from the other bots. “I am _not_ a dork. I am respected- hey, Sideswipe!” He shoved Sideswipe’s servo away from his aft. “You’re such a _teenager!”_ He tackled him, and the two wrestled on the ground like sparklings.

            “Yeah, Bee, get ‘im!” Grimlock egged on, helping Strongarm up. It was hard for her to stand, she was laughing so much. Grimlock turned and gave Drift a smile. “Bet you’re glad you came with us, huh?”

            “Ecstatic.”

            Drift was surprised at how short the day had seemed once the sun went down. They were on their way back to base. Denny ruffled his son’s hair and congratulated him on a good game while Bumblebee talked sternly to Sideswipe about how it was _not_ appropriate to touch a leader’s bottom, even if it was “wiggling all up in my face!” Slipstream and Jetstorm had fallen into recharge, and Drift had decided against waking them up in favor of carrying them just this once (Grimlock’s idea). Strongarm rubbed her optics as she pretended to listen to Fixit’s chattering.

            “Thanks for coming with us today,” Grimlock said suddenly. He spoke quietly as to not disturb the minicons. “I know you’re usually not big on that kind of stuff. You know, loud, just-for-fun, not training stuff…”

            Drift harrumphed. “Yes, well, I found it to be quite… an experience.” Alright, so he’d enjoyed it. Just a little.

            Grimlock lit up. “Really?” he asked. He punched a fist into the air. “Yes! Aw, if you thought _that_ was an experience just wait, teamie!” He ran ahead of Drift, singing one of his impromptu songs.

            Drift was not going to admit he looked forward to more time with his “teamie”.


	2. Teddy Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A request for Stronglock. Grimlock can't sleep until Strongarm does.

Grimlock whined. His legs kicked out to fling the thermal blankets off his berth. It was the middle of the night and as hard as he tried he _couldn’t recharge_. Something- someone- was too bright, too noisy. Grimlock’s dinobot coding demanded that he be aware of his surroundings at all times; his instincts led him to be ready to defend himself- and his friends- at all times. There was no way he could recharge until he found out what was keeping him up and deemed things safe. Grumbling, he rolled off of his recharge slab to follow the glow through several shelves of knick-knacks. What he found was Strongarm. She was shuffling through datapads and repeating police codes in a voice she must’ve thought was quiet.

                “Strongarm,” he whispered. She jerked and Grim laid a firm servo on her shoulder. With a sigh she leaned back into his touch, allowing him to rub circles on her plating with his thumb. The rumble of her engine began to slow.

                “What are you doing up?” she asked. Grimlock snorted.

                “Wondering what you’re doing up so late,” he said. “You know I can’t sleep ‘til I know everyone else is alright.”

                Bright blue optics softened in understanding. Strongarm switched the data pads off and turned to face Grimlock. “I know. I just… couldn’t get to sleep for some reason, so I decided to do something productive and study. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

                “Aww, why didn’t you tell me?” Grimlock chuckled. “I can help you, I’m the best teddy bear in the business!”

                “Hu-?!” Strongarm was cut off as Grimlock scooped her up. He carried her bridal style to his berth and laid her down gently, crawling in next to her and tugging the thermal blanket over the both of them. His engine purred soft and soothing and his spark pulsed steady and strong; he hoped it would lull her into recharge. He pulled her flush against him in.

                “Grim,” she hissed. “What are you doing? I don’t- I’m not a sparkling.”

                “Shhh, sleepy time.” Grimlock nuzzled her pouting face. Huffing, she wriggled in his grip. One of Grimlock’s optics peeked open.

                “C’mon, do you really wanna go back to studying?”

                “Well… no. At least not at this time of night.” She tentatively tucked her head under his chin. “Is it really okay to be- um- cuddling like this? I mean, it’s not like PDA, but it seems inappropriate for two teammates to be-“

                _SNOOOOORRRREEEEE_

                ‘Well,’ thought Strongarm. ‘I really shouldn’t wake him up… And he _is_ a pretty good teddy bear.’ She allowed herself to snuggle into his warmth. All of her thoughts melted as she listened to the rhythm of his sparkbeat; hers fell into synch. Calm and warm, and draped in a snoring dinobot, she fell asleep.


	3. Paper Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strongarm tries to figure out who Bumblebee is writing a love poem for. Whoo boy.

Litter was certainly not the highest crime, but it was the one Strongarm found most… annoying. It made an ugly mess and besides, how hard was it to just throw away your garbage? She huffed, picking up another ball of paper and dropping it in her subspace for the recycle bin later. She was following a trail to the culprit- silly culprit, making it so easy for her! She smirked as she thought about how proud Bee would be of her when she-

 _Crunch. Tep!_ The paper ball bonked her right on the helm.

“Oh, sorry Strongarm. I didn’t see you there.”

“Bumblebee!” Strongarm gaped. He was covered in sticky notes and swaying slightly. There were dark circles under his optics. He looked exhausted. “S-sir, what?... Um, you know, you already have a catchphrase. Remember? Rev up and roll out?”

Bee chuckled. “Ah, no. It’s- I know. I’m actually writing a poem.” He ducked his head in embarrassment. “For tomorrow.”

Strongarm sat down next Bee. Tomorrow? Right, they were having guests. Optimus and Ratchet were coming, as well as a team of Rescue Bots that she hadn’t met before. She began to pick the sticky notes off of Bee’s frame.

“You need rest, sir. I’m sure Optimus will like whatever you write him.” Tugging lightly on his arm, she coaxed him up. “C’mon, there’s a recharge station with your name on it.”

“’S not for Optimus,” Bee mumbled, stumbling. “It’s for m’boyfriend.” Then, he promptly fell to the ground, fast asleep.

                “Boyfriend?”

               

* * *

 

                Bumblebee was more frantic than the team had ever seen him, and that was saying something. As he paced around he mumbled under his breath, and then straightened the stack of energon cubes he’d gotten out for their guests.

                “Fixit, is the command center dusted? And the obstacle course- is that ready?” He bounced on his pedes.

                “Yes sir,” said Fixit, rolling his optics. “Everything is pine-trine- _fine._ Relax.” Fixit giggled and poked Bumble bee as he rolled passed, causing Bee to raise an optic ridge. Before he could ask about it, Strongarm grabbed his shoulder and slipped a data pad in his hand- the poem. There was an odd sort of glow in her optic. A glimmer of… amusement? He huffed. There was no time to think about it, he decided.

                “Sir, the guests have arrived,” Strongarm informed him.

                “Already?!” He shot off towards the groundbridge. Strongarm chuckled behind him. Grimlock and Sideswipe ran over to join her, still buzzing after the gossip session the night before. One of which even the minicons had gotten in on and now- noticing the group- invited themselves over. They all watched from afar as Optimus, Ratchet, and a group of bots with the autobot rescue insignia stepped through. Excitedly, they greeted each other, and Bumblebee waved the team over.

                “My money’s on pretty silver one with the nice hips,” whispered Sideswipe. Strongarm jabbed him in the side.

                “No way,” murmured Grimlock. “It’s the red one! He looks like he’s in charge.” A poke on his foot caught his attention, and Slipstream made a ‘shush’ gesture and motioned for him to stand up straight. They fell into line and Bee grinned proudly at them.

                “Guys, meet the rescue bots,” he beamed. “This is Heatwave, Chase, Boulder, Quick Shadow, Blurr, Salvage, Hightide, and…” he practically danced over to a little orange helibot. He didn’t look cut out for combat, in fact he seemed skittish and awkward, but he was the cutest creamsicle any of them had seen.

                “This is Blades,” said Bee. “We’re courting. I’m so glad for you all to finally meet. He’s… so special to me.” His blush was heard through his voice. He brought Blades’ servo up to his mouth, placing a sweet, lingering kiss there. The team stared. After a few moments of awkward silence Blades shuffled forward.

                “H-hi…it’s um, nice to meet you…”

                Strongarm surged forward. She caught Bee and Blades in a hug, nearly toppling them over.

                “You two are _so_ cute together!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Bumbleblades!


	4. It's Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set post-series. Windblade tries to explain something to Sideswipe. The message gets across.

“I didn’t know angels flew this low.”

Windblade paused in her stretching and quirked a brow.

“A simple hello would’ve sufficed,” she replied, turning on her heel and striding off. Sideswipe had to jog to keep up. What was her deal?

“Hello,” he offered dryly. Silence hung for a few moments; just long enough for Sideswipe to become disgruntled and slightly concerned. “So… How was Cybertron.”

Windblade sighed but didn’t answer. Abruptly, she stopped. Sideswipe tumbled into her back, face buried suddenly in her wings. With a grunt and one swift movement she ducked away from his touch and twisted out of his reach, sending him to the ground.

“That bad huh?” He spat out sand and shakily pushed himself to sit up. Windblade plopped down next to him. ‘Primus,’ he prayed, trying to shrink down to the size of a scraplet. ‘Please spare me from her wrath.’

“Cybertron was lovely!”                

Wait, what? ‘I will never understand femmes…’ Sideswipe thought. Windblade shifted. She grumbled under her breath, played with her servos, and stubbornly _would not_ look him in the optics.

“Look Sideswipe,” she sighed at last. “Cybertron was nice… but I missed you.

Oh.

_Oh._

Slowly- because he didn’t know what to expect- Sideswipe wiggled closer and with careful, deliberate movements took her servo. He didn’t pull her as much as guide her to his mouth for a kiss. He wasn’t pushy; it was an offer, not a demand, and really who could make this femme do anything she didn’t want to anyway? The kiss was soft and sweet, with fireworks underneath. Neither of them were used to this kind of tenderness, yet it was…nice. Perfect, even. Windblade smelled like autumn and breeze-chapped lipplates were cool and sweet. Their fields touched but didn’t quite intertwine. It was over much too soon.

“Stay?” Sideswipe murmured, starstruck. “With me?”

Windblade smiled. “We’ll see, Slick.”


	5. A Fine Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set in an AU where Steeljaw decides to change his ways and become an autobot. http://yara-chanfromthecenter.tumblr.com/ made the AU, I just wrote the drabble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate the title for this. I truly do. I considered, briefly, changing it to Moon Moon but... that just seemed immature. :p Also sorry for the weird thing about the lack of indents... couldn't figure that one out

Bumblebee found Steeljaw in the middle of the woods. He was pouting. Of course, the sun had set and it was too dark to see, but some things Bee could just tell. Steeljaw was pouting.

It’d been almost a week since the decepticon had switched sides and things were… rough, to say the least. Just today Drift had refused to let Steeljaw train with Slipstream and Jetstorm, claiming that he didn’t want his students to be around a “negative influence.” He’d looked hurt for a split second, and then his expression morphed into anger. Thankfully, though, he hadn’t started a fight in favor of storming off.

“Hey.” Bee settled next to Steeljaw and poked his shoulder. “I talked to Drift. He said he’d apologize.” There was no response, so he continued. “Slipstream and Jetstorm said they really would like to train with you.”

Steeljaw’s optics peaked up from where he had his helm buried in his arms. The usually bright yellow glowed dull and uninterested. There was a noise he made, somewhere between a huff and a snort, that reminded Bee of when dogs snuffled.

“I should go,” he said. Bee gaped.

“No,” he said. “C’mon- I know it’s been hard but-but… look, just stay. Alright? Things will get easier. The team just hasn’t… warmed up to you yet.”

This time Steeljaw did snort _._ His gaze wandered up and Bee noticed his frame slump in relaxation. He followed his optics.

“The moon? Yeah, earth has a nice one.” He hesitated. “Did you, uh… wanna howl or something? You do that, right? Would it make you feel better?”

Steeljaw glowered at him for a long moment. “I was just thinking of Luna 1,” he muttered. “This moon hardly compares.”

Shrugging dismissively, Bumblebee stood. He hardly thought about Cybertron anymore; hardly remembered what it was like sometimes. Somehow, he’d become way too attached to this planet. At least that’s what other bots told him. To him it had become home. _Home_ , he decided, and he _liked_ the moon. It was a good moon. Certainly good enough to howl at. He smirked and titled his head back.

“aaAA-“ A servo clamped over his intake, and he doubled over with laughter as he tried to shake Steeljaw off of him. The two toppled over in a heap, Steeljaw shoving him away with disgusted look.

“You _licked_ me,” he said. Had he? Well, he hadn’t meant to, but Bee considered it an added bonus. He patted Steeljaw’s shoulder.

“C’mon, let’s get back home,” he said. “Everyone is probably worried.”

Steeljaw grumbled, but headed for the scrapyard.


End file.
